Cortland to Face NYU in NCAA Men's Basketball Tourney Opening Round Friday at York (Pa.)
Cortland Sports Information Department
SUNY Cortland has earned a spot in the 64-team NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament and will play New York University in the opening round on Friday, March 7, as part of a four-team regional hosted by York College of Pennsylvania.
Friday's other first-round game at York features the host Spartans versus John Carroll University. The Cortland-NYU game is scheduled for a 4:50 p.m. start, with York vs. John Carroll at 7:20 p.m. Friday's winners will play Saturday at York at 7:20 p.m., with that winner advancing to the tournament's "sweet 16."
The Red Dragons (17-11), under second-year head coach Maurice Kearney, automatically qualified for the national tournament by winning the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title last Saturday with a 61-52 win over top-seeded and host New Paltz in the conference championship game. The Red Dragons were the tournament's third seed. Cortland won its eighth league title and will be making its seventh NCAA appearance overall and first since 2016.
Kearney will be facing a program that's he very familiar with - he served as an assistant coach at NYU during the 2022-23 season before being hired as Cortland's head coach. Prior to NYU, Kearney was at Cortland as a player from 2010-14, assistant coach from 2014-18 and associate head coach from 2018-22.
Three players average double figures in scoring for Cortland. Junior Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) averages 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, junior Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) averages 13.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest, and sophomore Joel Davis (Watertown) averages 10.5 points and a team-high 10.1 rebounds per game. Coston leads the team with 2.5 assists per game and Davis is the team leader with 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.
NYU (24-1) is ranked second nationally in Division III by D3hoops.com. The Violets won the University Athletic Association (UAA) title with a 13-1 regular-season mark to claim an NCAA automatic bid; the league does not conduct a postseason tournament. NYU's lone loss of the season came at home versus Emory University, 77-65, on Jan. 17 - the Violets bring a 12-game win streak into NCAA play.
York (21-6) won the MAC Commonwealth title with an 82-67 win over Alvernia to earn an NCAA automatic bid. John Carroll (22-5) also earned an automatic berth after defeating Mount Union, 82-69, in the Ohio Athletic Conference championship game.
